THERE is a lot to be said for modern innovations like T20, but the extra format does not make being a cricketer any easier for family men.

I can well imagine there were a few strained conversations in the run-up to last weekend’s fixture programme, which for some teams will have included a T20 match on the Friday, league match on the Saturday and cup match on the Sunday.

Cricketers might not admit it to their team-mates, but those with wives and girlfriends will have dreaded being the bearer of that piece of bad news.

“Sorry love, I can’t make it to that party/wedding/christening, we have got a triple-header!”

I know I always hark back to Greenmount’s treble-winning team, but fixture congestion presented a constant problem for us back then. The more successful we became, the more matches we had to play, and that led to a lot of family strife.

There was one player in particular, no names but we all know who you are, that used to come up with mystery injuries before a double-header. He would start limping about Tuesday.

We knew his game, but he would never fess up to the team that he had somewhere else to be with his missus.

This is something few people talk about in the dressing room but many people reading this will have been through it.

It’s fine if your partner likes cricket and enjoys watching the matches, but my wife Jacqueline is not too keen. She has been to watch me at Old Trafford but that’s about it.

There have been plenty of arguments over the years, but nowhere near as many as there should have been.

My wife has been really understanding, to a point. If I ever moaned about aching after a double-header she would remind me about the jobs she spent the weekend doing while I was off having fun.

Essentially, cricketers are selfish and don’t think about their partners as much as they should, but I have seen many good players quit the sport because of the family pressures it causes.

It’s not like football, where you can leave for an away game at 1pm and be back by 5pm. Sometimes we meet up at 11am and don’t get off the pitch until quarter to eight. Do that Saturday/Sunday for a large part of the summer and it gets a bit too much.

Some managers will allow lads to play just one game a weekend, but that can affect team morale so it is a tricky one.

I know my wife is looking forward to me retiring at the end of this season so we can “have a life like normal couples”, as she says.

As long as that doesn’t involve too much shopping, I am actually looking forward to it.